Bo Diddley Is A Twister

A lot of the material on this record was rushed out in half-finished form, in order to get an album out that cashed in on the "twist" craze of early 1962. There may well have been words intended to the opening track, "Detour," which came out of the 1961 session featuring Peggy "Lady Bo" Jones that produced the excellent "Pills" and the rather perfunctory reading of Willie Dixon's "My Babe," and some lackluster earlier instrumental material, "Shank" and "The Twister." This record also included "Here 'Tis," the soulful Bo Diddley original that would serve the Eric Clapton-era Yardbirds in very good stead on stage -- Diddley's version blows theirs completely away -- as well as the classics "Road Runner" and "Who Do You Love." In all, it isn't half-bad for an album that nobody intended as such, though most of the best (except "Here 'Tis") has been included on various hits compilations. ~ Bruce Eder

• Genre: Rock
• Format: Vinyl